John R. Gabourel – copyright 2011-19

Tag Archives: Supreme Court destroys the right to petition

Money is the medium of exchange for goods and services in the form of coins and banknotes. It defines wealth, and its sole use is to buy and sell goods and services. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that money equals free speech. Therefore, logically, if money equals free speech, then free speech must equal money equals wealth. Thus a citizen without money is a citizen without free speech. The Constitution of the United States guarantees every citizen the right to free speech and the right to petition the Government for redress of grievances. The majority of Americans are of little economic means – they have no money to speak of – therefore, by defining free speech as money, the Supreme Court has used its power to politically silence most of America. A silenced citizen, one without money, cannot effectively petition the Government for redress of grievances. Unfortunately, since the balance of power in America is dead, the Supreme Court is not subject to any controlling legal authority, and most certainly has no respect for or fear of God Almighty.

Death of The Right to Petition the Government for Redress of Grievances

Not too many years ago corporate America paid about 30% of America’s tax burden while the citizens paid the other 70%. Then along came a corrupt judiciary that ruled that corporations were really people, though they are not, and campaign donations and political action committee dollars were really free speech, though they are not. It would be the same if a rich man pissed down your back and the Nine ruled that it was raining. It does not matter what the Supreme Court says, piss is piss.

Free speech can generate money, certainly. I make a few dollars selling my books, and Hillary Clinton makes a healthy living as a public speaker. Neither one of us actually pays people to listen to us. However, money does not generate free speech. All the money does is bribe the politician to listen to what the wealthy have to say. The wealthy are certainly free to say what ever they want to say without spending a dime, while politicians are free to act on the merits of their written or spoken arguments without taking a dime. The money, the material compensation, whether is it front door or back door, simply purchases political action regardless of merit. My employer pays me to do as I am told. I work for them, not on the merit of their words, but for pay. I would not work for them if all I received in return were words of praise and plaudits. The modern American politician counts on these quid pro quos as part of their overall financial plan. Money is not free speech. Money is compensation. At least in the English language, according to Webster’s Dictionary, it is.

Up until the late 1970s big business’s maximum tax rate hovered around 50%. Today, after throwing hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars at D.C. politicians, America’s corporations have dropped their top tax rate to 35%, a whopping 30% reduction in their maximum rate. Corporate America did not stop there. Now, through the steady creation of a bizarre array of tax loopholes, Big Business pays only about 10% of America’s total tax burden, a net 70% reduction of their historic rate. In return, thousands of D.C. politicians have been made into multimillionaires… either while still in office or shortly after leaving office. In fact, in a country of over 300 million citizens, political free speech in D.C. is controlled by less than one thousand wealthy groups and individuals. The common man simply cannot compete. We do not have the sort of money needed to grease the wheels of the political apparatus. No elected official is going to get rich off of us, so we are stuck paying 90% of the taxes while corporate America brags about record profits, accumulates massive war chests, and owns a near monopoly when it comes to petitioning the Government.

On April 2nd, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court further denied the common man the ability to petition the government by striking down significant legal limitations on financial contributions to candidates, parties and PACs. Now the super wealthy can spend their way to an even firmer stranglehold on our government, while the common man has nothing but the poverty of words to convince elected officials to do the right thing. Legally, according to the Supreme Court, money equals free speech, and money is worth infinitely more than words. Because of the U.S. Supreme Court, money talks, not words. Money persuades, not words. Money gets redress of grievances, not words. Frankly, if you cussed out one of those arrogant justices using words, you would likely spend the night in jail and then have to spend a lot of your hard-earned “free speech” to bail yourself out of the clink.

Take a look at the looming merger of cable giants Comcast and Time Warner. In an industry where there is already little true competition, it is an obviously bad deal for the everyday man. These companies have thrown tens of millions of dollars at politicians in recent years to sway their opinion. These companies are leading the charge to kill net-neutrality and change the Internet into a private, pay-to-play, piggy bank for internet service providers. If Uncle Sam approves their merger they will control access in 30% of America’s households. Billions of people around the globe have invested trillions of hours of work and countless dollars over the last two decades making the Internet what it is, yet leading ISPs like Comcast have managed to convince the Government that they did all the work and should be allowed to control access to Internet content. Pay-to-play is the theme here. This scenario plays itself out time and time again as Corporate America, the Radical Left, and the Radical Right repeatedly screw over John Q. Public. The Obligation to Purchase Redress of Grievances from the Government has replaced our Right to Petition the Government for Redress of Grievances. I suggest you write your congressman about it. Be sure to write a big, fat check of “free speech” to go along with your words.

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The Knight and the Serpent

The means by which we succeed defines who we are. In the end, our character is all we can take with us. JRG

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Copyright 2011-19 John R. Gabourel

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A Ration of Chocolate

When Big Brother came for the landowner and took his property away,
I did nothing.
When Big Brother came for the Christians singing carols in the park,
I did nothing.
When Big Brother tried to force pro-life hospitals and healthcare workers to perform abortions,
I did nothing.
When Big Brother created a vast surveillance network that tracked my every move and every word,
I did nothing.
When Big Brother took away my right to bear arms and resist tyranny,
I did nothing.
When Big Brother finally came for me,
I accepted my ration of chocolate and did what I was told, for I would rather live safely in subjugation than risk death as a free man.